Chapter Fifty-Seven: A Grand Gesture
Chapter Fifty-Seven: A Grand Scheme
Zhang Qing patted his chest with pride. “In all the East Four Markets, who hasn’t heard the name Zhang Qing of the Vegetable Garden? My green garlic…”
Tie Xinyuan had no time to listen to Zhang Qing boast. His eyes darted about, searching for Sun Erniang. Since Zhang Qing of the Vegetable Garden had appeared, Sun Erniang could not be far behind.
But Tie Xinyuan was overthinking it. Instead, a gentle woman carrying a small, frail child quietly approached and stood to the side, watching as Zhang Qing, spittle flying, extolled the virtues of his vegetables to Wang Rouhua.
The little child looked weak, clinging to his mother’s arms like a monkey, gazing at Tie Xinyuan with curious eyes.
As soon as Zhang Qing saw the woman, the burly man immediately bent at the waist and spoke softly to her, “Why are you out here? The child can’t stand the wind.”
The woman replied in a low voice, “It’s not good to stay indoors all the time. Go tend to the guests.”
In Tie Xinyuan’s eyes, the young woman was quite striking. If she was Zhang Qing’s wife, it would thoroughly change his impression of Sun Erniang.
Zhang Qing rubbed his hands and said to Wang Rouhua, “Madam Tie, if you’re interested in my green garlic and winter scallions, I’ll dig them up for you right now. You’ve seen it yourself, both my wife and child are in poor health and need money for medicine. The price for the green garlic really isn’t high.”
Wang Rouhua walked over to the woman, playfully tugged the child’s little hand, and said to her, “This must be from not recovering well after childbirth.”
The woman smiled. “I’ve been frail since childhood. Giving birth to this little one was like passing through the gates of hell. But my own weakness has only dragged the child down, leaving him with little to eat.”
Wang Rouhua replied, “Few children are raised on mother’s milk these days. Peasant children are hardy; give them a bit of rice and oil and they’ll grow tall like saplings.”
The woman smiled again, giving her answer without words.
Zhang Qing grew anxious. “Madam Tie, have you made up your mind?”
Wang Rouhua smiled. “Brother Zhang, with vegetables this fine, I’d be heartless to haggle further. As we agreed, please deliver fifty pounds each of green garlic and winter scallions to my shop daily, no later than noon.”
Tie Xinyuan saw his mother settle the payment for the first day’s vegetables with Zhang Qing and watched as Zhang Qing loaded the freshly dug green garlic and winter scallions onto his cart. What puzzled him was his mother’s expression.
Since the woman had appeared, his mother’s face had changed—not pale, but somewhat cold and grim.
She’d planned to buy some beans, rapeseed, and lettuce to dry for later, but instead hurried the cart back to the capital.
“Mother, do you know that auntie?”
Wang Rouhua only murmured in reply, again falling silent.
After a long while, as the cart was about to enter the city, Wang Rouhua finally said to Tie Xinyuan, “We’ll go to your grandmother’s house tomorrow.”
Tie Xinyuan frowned. “Didn’t you say we’d never set foot in that mansion again? Why the change? Is it because of that unknown aunt?”
Wang Rouhua stopped the cart and tossed three coins into the basket at the city gate for entry, then led the cart with the reins in hand, blending into the bustling crowd heading into the capital.
Once back at the shop, Wang Rouhua unloaded the green garlic and scallions without a word, then took Tie Xinyuan home.
She made lunch without any salt. After two bites, Tie Xinyuan put down his bowl, but Wang Rouhua ate two full bowls as if venting her anger.
Tie Xinyuan privately assumed his mother was feeling sentimental—the situation with Zhang Qing and his wife strongly resembled what his own parents had gone through, and he thought that was why she was so moved.
“That aunt of yours intends to leave us mother and son without a way to survive.”
As she spoke, Wang Rouhua was gripping a cleaver, slicing meat for the fox. The veins stood out on her right hand, and the fox, sensing danger, ducked under the table, fearing he’d be struck by his mistress.
“That woman with the child—is something wrong with her?”
“Hmph. That woman was driven from home by my eldest uncle when she was very young. I heard she was drowned in the village pond. She’s never seen me, but I have seen her.”
Tie Xinyuan smiled. “Mother, did you really think meeting an old acquaintance today was just coincidence?”
Wang Rouhua shoved the meat into the fox’s mouth and snapped, “Son, have you ever seen the dead come back to life? Have you ever seen someone thrown into a pond to drown, only to return from the dead?”
Tie Xinyuan nodded. “The dead cannot return. If you think today’s events were deliberately staged, the person behind it deserves to die. By the way, mother, what crime did that woman commit to be drowned? Never mind, if you don’t want to say, I can guess a few things.”
“It has something to do with your second uncle…” Wang Rouhua said curtly.
“How serious could it be? Even if my second uncle had an affair with her, as a maidservant she could have just been sent away with some money. Why are you so anxious?”
“She belonged to your great-uncle’s household.”
Tie Xinyuan had no desire to hear more about the affairs of the Wang family. The more his mother spoke, the more awkward she seemed to feel. He thought it best to head over to the abandoned garden, where Yang Huaiyu and the others were probably still practicing martial arts.
Scandals like this were not rare in large families: vast back courtyards with only a handful of men and a hundred young, pretty women living together inevitably led to strange incidents. Everyone knew about the squalor behind those grand doors and no longer found it shocking. As long as it was covered up well, who would pursue it?
Tie Xinyuan felt this matter had little to do with himself or his mother. Zhang Qing grew such fine vegetables—so long as he was honest and supplied quality goods, he was an excellent vendor.
Judging by how Zhang Qing treated his wife, they seemed a loving couple. Whether or not that woman had cheated death, as long as they lived well, exposing her secrets would only be the act of someone with a tainted conscience.
“Mother, you’d best forget about this. Our family’s relationship with the Zhangs is simply that of buyer and seller. If you insist on complicating matters, the consequences could be dire. Let others talk; we will say nothing. Even if others speak, we shall not. Don’t you still want to do good deeds so I can grow up safe and sound?”
Wang Rouhua gave a bitter smile. “Son, you don’t know the entanglements here. If this is exposed, the Wang family is finished. Even if His Majesty lets it go, the Wang family’s century-old reputation will be utterly ruined. If it comes to light, the elders will go mad, and because we’ve had contact with that woman, whether or not it was us who betrayed her, we’ll be the first targets for the family’s revenge.”
“So you plan to return to tell Great-Uncle and let him have that poor woman killed again? If you do that, you’ll never find peace.”
“You’re suggesting I just pretend to know nothing?”
“Of course. As you said, it was long ago. Not recognizing that woman is only natural.”
Tie Xinyuan was not ignorant of the danger in all this—he simply wanted nothing to do with the sordid affairs of the Wang family. Even though it was his maternal grandfather’s home, he felt no affection for those people.
How much had his mother suffered, to the point where she would rather throw herself into the Yellow River? What sort of torment had she endured, to abandon the Wang family’s wealth and follow his father into a life of forging iron?
It seemed to him whatever retribution befell the Wang family was only just.
Yet Tie Xinyuan still wanted to know who was truly behind all this. Why had he ended up with Zhang Qing as his vegetable supplier? Why had a reliable vendor suddenly refused to supply the shop?
It appeared to be a far-reaching plot, one that went far beyond the old resentment between his mother and Aunt Wang Yu.